Join the tour to visit colleges

Wednesday

Feb 19, 2014 at 2:41 PM

Scholarships and admission to college could be awarded on-site to students participating in a college bus tour organized by a Gainesville-based business that deals in finding academic and athletic scholarships for students and offering ACT and SAT preparation classes.

By CLEVELAND TINKERSpecial to the Guardian

Scholarships and admission to college could be awarded on-site to students participating in a college bus tour organized by a Gainesville-based business that deals in finding academic and athletic scholarships for students and offering ACT and SAT preparation classes.The 2014 Spring Break College Tours, organized by Mike Powell & Associates LLC, will be held March 24-28 during Spring Break for Alachua County Public Schools. The tours will visit schools from Miami to North Carolina and are designed for students in ninth- through 12th-grade."There will be some on-the-spot admissions done and there will be some schools that offer scholarships on the spot as well," said Powell, adding that students who have met the different deadlines with the various colleges will be eligible for the on-site admissions and scholarships. Powell said the deadline to register for the tours will be March 1 and can be completed at MikePowellConsulting.com. The tours are as follows:

* March 24: Capital City Tour, $75, to Florida A&M University and Florida State University, both in Tallahassee.

* March 25: Jacksonville College Tour, $60, to Edward Waters College and Jacksonville University.

* March 24-25: Carolina College Tour, $215, to Clemson University in Clemson, S.C.; University of South Carolina in Columbia, S.C.; and Wake Forest University and Winston-Salem State University, both in Winston-Salem, N.C.

* March 25: Florida West Coast College Tour, $80, to Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers and St. Leo University in St. Leo in Pasco County.

* March 25: South Georgia College Tour, $99, to Fort Valley State University in Fort Valley, Ga., and Valdosta State University in Valdosta, Ga.

* March 27-28: Atlanta College Tour, $150, to University of West Georgia in Carrollton, Ga.; Clark-Atlanta University, Morehouse College and Spelman College, all in Atlanta, and Tuskegee University in Tuskegee, Ala.

* March: 28: Miami College Tour, $99, to Johnson & Wales University in North Miami and Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton.Powell said the cost of the two-day tours also includes hotel rooms and breakfast, and like the one-day tours, a seat on a luxury charter bus and visits to each schools.Powell, formerly a top administrator in the University of Florida Admissions Office, started his business almost five years ago. He said his firm specializes in helping students get academic and athletic scholarships, tutoring to prepare students to take college entrance exams, and more.Powell said tours will include information sessions at each school led by officials from the schools who will talk about the admissions process. He said tours of the campuses will be led by students from the schools. He said there is a chance professors from some of the schools will speak to students.Taylor Thomas, a senior at Gainesville High School, said going on the I-4 Corridor Tour last year (it's already sold out this year) to the University of Central Florida and Valencia College, both in Orlando, prepared her for the college admissions process and made it easier."When I completed my junior year, I wasn't stressing about what I needed to do when I started applying to colleges," said Thomas, who has been accepted into the University of South Florida in Tampa and is waiting to hear from UCF. Mike Linton, a senior at Eastside High School, also said the tour he went on last year was very informative. He said he might be going on a tour again this year. "I learned about the requirements for each school and the schools gave us packets to take with us," said Linton, who is awaiting football scholarship offers from North Carolina A&T University in Greensboro, N.C., and North Carolina Central University in Durham, N.C."I think the tours will be helpful for anybody who takes one."

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